Obama dinner to mark end of Iraq War

By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

With U.S. forces still fighting in Afghanistan, the Obama administration has chosen to mark the end of the Iraq War with something more modest than a ticker-tape parade — a state-dinner-like event at the White House later this month feting a select group of combat veterans and their spouses or guests.

By Jeff Roberson, AP

A parade honoring Iraq War veterans was held in St. Louis on Jan. 28. Some Iraq vets are pushing for a ticker-tape parade in New York to mark the end of the war, but the White House has opted for a state dinner.

A parade honoring Iraq War veterans was held in St. Louis on Jan. 28. Some Iraq vets are pushing for a ticker-tape parade in New York to mark the end of the war, but the White House has opted for a state dinner.

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The core theme is the common fighting man or woman, said Douglas Wilson, Pentagon public affairs chief.

The intent is for those invited — with guests, numbering more than 200 — to represent the 1.5 million who fought in a nine-year-war that left nearly 4,500 dead and 32,000 wounded, he said.

"The dining room that night will look like the America that served in Iraq," Wilson said.

"State dinners honor heads of state and I think the feeling was that this type of dinner is an appropriate way to honor men and women who … merit the same degree of respect as a head of state," he said.

The black-tie White House event to be called "A Nation's Gratitude" may be unprecedented, Wilson said.

Factions led by the 200,000-member Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America are pushing for a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the USA's ritual celebration for heroes. "That (dinner) is a nice effort. The problem is what do you tell everybody outside that 200 who want to be a part of this," Executive Director Paul Reickhoff said.

Pentagon leaders are not opposed to a New York parade, Wilson said, but feel strongly it should wait until U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan end.

Senior enlisted leaders for each service branch are choosing those who will attend the White House dinner, and half or more will be enlisted, Wilson said.

The guest list is divided among Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy in proportion to a service's role in Iraq, he said.

"They understand that every state and territory needs to be represented, every rank," Wilson said. "It needs to be diverse."

Contributing: Richard Wolf

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